ROME (Reuters) – Italy’s data protection authority has called on the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) model DeepSeek to provide answers on its use of personal data.
The agency, also known as the Garante, frequently takes initiatives – such as requesting information or imposing fines or bans – on matters affecting high-tech multinationals operating in the country.
Here are some key facts about the Garante:
HISTORY
The agency was established in 1997 following the implementation of the country’s data protection law which sought to align with European Union rules. It has become increasingly active in safeguarding personal data and privacy rights in Italy and intervenes more frequently than similar bodies in many other European Union countries.
GOVERNANCE
The agency, based in Rome’s central Piazza Venezia, is an independent authority comprised of a collegiate body of four members, including a president. The members are elected by parliament and serve a seven-year term intended to ensure independence from the government.
The Garante’s current president is Pasquale Stanzione, a 79-year-old former law professor at Salerno University.
FUNCTION
The agency investigates complaints, conducts audits and imposes sanctions on entities that it rules have violated data protection regulations. It also provides guidance and advice to public and private sector organizations on data protection practices.
KEY RULINGS
Over the past five years, the Garante has issued rulings that have shaped the landscape of data protection in Italy.
In 2020, it fined Telecom Italia (TIM) 27.8 million euros ($29 million) for unlawful data processing practices related to telemarketing activities. The ruling underscored the importance of obtaining clear and explicit consent from individuals before processing their personal data for marketing purposes.
In 2021 it ordered Chinese social media platform TikTok to enhance its data protection measures to better safeguard minors, following concerns about the platform’s handling of personal data of users under the age of 13.
In 2023 OpenAI took its ChatGPT app offline in Italy after the Garante temporarily banned the chatbot and launched a probe over the artificial intelligence application’s suspected breach of privacy rules. Italy was the first Western country to temporarily ban the app.
Last year it fined Italy’s second-largest bank, UniCredit, 2.8 million euros for a data breach in a case affecting thousands of customers and former customers.
Last month the agency fined OpenAI 15 million euros after closing another investigation into its use of personal data.
($1 = 0.9621 euros)
(Reporting by Gavin Jones; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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